Marys River Blog

The aroma of fresh tamales permeated the gym as dozens of kids buzzed from station to station, creating slime, paper airplanes, and bird nests as part of Lincoln Elementary’s annual STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) Night on November 20th.

STEAM Night brings together volunteers from over 20 different local agencies and organizations to lead activity stations for elementary students and their families on science, technology, art, and math. Over 150 students and their families participated in bilingual (English/Spanish) activities for the event.

Corvallis’ Taqueria Alonzo was on site to provide chips, salsa, beef, rice, beans, and chicken and veggie tamales.

MRWC and the Institute for Applied Ecology had a booth together to teach students about bird nests and eggs and to help students create their own bird nests, complete with moss, hay, sticks, and a cotton ball bird. As part of the overall event, students earned a raffle ticket by speaking Spanish at each booth. ¿De qué color es tu pájaro? 

A big thanks to Benton Soil and Water Conservation District and Lincoln Elementary for coordinating the event. See you next year at STEAM Night!  ¡Hasta la proxima!

 

 

On a chilly, but bright autumn afternoon on October 26th, volunteers from across Benton County came to the Dunawi Creek wetland area at Starker Arts Pond to help rehabilitate this wetland habitat by planting native plants.

The event exceeded expectations with over 80 volunteers turning out and finishing the work in only two hours! Over 1,100 native species were planted, including rush, sedge, camas, snowberry, red flowering currant, blue elderberry, and milkweed (a critical food source for Monarch butterflies).

The event was sponsored by the Marys River Watershed Council, the City of Corvallis, and the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition Water Action Team. Many thanks to all the volunteers, including from groups like the Corvallis Odd Fellows, the Oregon State University soil science class, and the Oregon State University Environmental Sciences Club, among others. Thank you for your hard work! 

For more information, check out the Gazette Times article about the event!

 

Community members took the health of the Willamette River into their own hands on Saturday, October 5th as they cleared trash and debris from the river as part of Willamette Riverkeeper’s annual Great Willamette Clean Up.

Marys River Watershed Council partnered with Greenbelt Land Trust to host volunteers at the confluence of the Marys and Willamette at the Corvallis BMX Park, the downtown waterfront, and Pioneer Park.

Our hard working crews, including teams from Hollingsworth & Vose and OSU Hydrophiles, removed 95 bags of trash, large furniture, tires, and other debris.

Thanks to Willamette Riverkeeper, Corvallis Parks and Recreation, and Corvallis Public Works for making this river-wide and city-wide initiative possible, and thanks to Mazama Brewing at Big River and 101 Eat & Drink for hosting the amazing after party!

 

“My favorite part of the tour was witnessing the many examples of recovering biodiversity.” –Rebecca Lexa, Oregon Master Naturalist

On Friday, October 4th, Master Naturalists from across Oregon came together at the Oregon State University campus for the 2019 Oregon Master Naturalist Statewide Conference. The Marys River Watershed Council was one of several groups to lead special field trips about environmental topics in the area.

The tour group included Master Naturalists as well as local landowners and Jeff Hollenbeck, the new City of Corvallis Watershed Specialist. Kathleen Westly, MRWC’s Education and Restoration Project Manager led the tour, which covered the recent work of the Council in the watershed.

The tour began in the Rock Creek Watershed to examine the watershed enhancement work that MRWC has done, including fish passage barrier removals, riparian plantings, and large woody debris placements. Participants were able to visit the drinking water reservoir managed by the City of Corvallis and tour the Shiver River LLC property, which was recently honored as Benton County’s Tree Farm of the Year.

The tour ended at Tyee Wine Cellars, the site of a large wetland habitat restoration conservation easement at the confluence of Beaver and Muddy Creeks. Participants also tasted some of the Certified Salmon Safe wine!

There was a wide variety of discussions, ranging from the decrease in beaver presence to forest management practices to toxic algae concerns, as well as opportunities for species identification. One group was particularly excited by the sighting of a lobster mushroom!

Diana Blakney, one of the owners of Shiver River, noted her appreciation for the lively discussions: “It’s not only that the instruction is great, it’s [the tour] is also great for the sharing of knowledge between participants. It’s as much about the participants as it is the instructors.”

 

 

Only days after moving in to their new residence halls at Oregon State, 12 freshmen Honors College students joined MRWC at Pioneer Village in Philomath on September 23rd to enhance the riparian habitat along Greasy Creek. The event was held as part of Plant-A-Tree Day, an annual event sponsored by One Tree Planted.

On a clear and sunny morning, the students removed invasive blackberry and cultivated plum trees and replaced them with over 350 live stakes of three native plants: willow, Douglas spirea, and red twig dogwood. With this work, the students  augmented an acre of native trees planted by the Council in 2016. Jessica Ewton, a new Honors College biochemistry major, said that the restoration work was “surprisingly fun!”

The community of Pioneer Village supports the restoration work and recognizes the positive impacts  the work has on bank stability, native plant growth, and stream ecology.

A big thank you to our OSU volunteers and One Tree Planted for their support as well as to Oregon Wetlands for the donation of the live stakes!

 

 

A blend of cultures came together on Sunday, September 15th for Festival Latino at Monteith Park in Albany. The annual event featured musical and dancing performances, food specialties from Mexico and South America, and a community resource fair. Marys River Watershed Council was there along with the Institute of Applied Ecology and the Benton Soil and Water Conservation District to host a “spin the wheel” game about watersheds and birds as well as a bird coloring activity for kids. The custom-made beaver costume also made an appearance!

Despite the wet and muddy conditions, attendees were in good spirits as they took in the festivities!

We hope you can join the Council next year at Festival Latino 2020!